Happy birthday to 'Who' - cult fantasy turns 25
- Publication: The Lombard Spectator
- Date: 1989-03-31
- Author: Bill Siwicki
- Page: sec. 4, p. 1
- Language: English
- Notes: Trivia answers here.
In the hit-and-miss, here today gone tomorrow world of television, a program is lucky to make it through one season before getting axed. So when a TV show reaches its 25th anniversary, it must be doing something right.
Entering its 26th season, the British Broadcasting Corp.'s "Doctor Who," shown at 11 p.m. Sundays on WTTW Channel 11, has achieved a landmark by becoming the longest-running program in broadcast history (discounting news programs like "Meet the Press" and talk shows like "The Tonight Show").
Those who watch the show regularly love it with a zeal. Those who have sat down to view the program once usually walk away saying, "I don't understand it."
The latter reaction is easy to understand, for "Doctor Who" represents a kind of science-fiction soap opera, a "General Hospital" in outer space and time.
Characters come and go, weekly cliffhangers bring the audience back for more, and through it all, the only fabric binding the epic program together is the powerful presence of its leading man —The Doctor.
The Doctor hails from the planet Gallifrey, a cloistered society of galactic observers who have the power to travel through time and space but have pledged not to interfere any time, anywhere.
Growing restless with the lifestyle of his fellow Time-lords, as his race of Gallifreyans is known, the Doctor "borrowed' a time/spacecraft called the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) and ran away from home.
The Doctor, whose name is unpronounceable to human beings (thus the oft-asked question, "Doctor who?"), initially landed on Earth on Nov. 23, 1963, in London, England.
His TARDIS, which is supposed to be able to change form as to blend in with its surroundings, took the image of a London police call box and, with characteristic faultiness, has remained so virtually ever since.
But one facet of the Doctor's life that has not remained the same is the Doctor himself. This factor is one of the main reasons the show has lasted so long.
If "M'A'S"H" had lost Alan Alda's Hawkeye, the show would have screeched to a halt.
If Larry Hagman's J.R. Ewing were to really get shot and die, the "Dallas" cast and crew would surely get the pink slip.
But the main character of the Doctor has left the show six times...so to speak.
As a Timelord, the Doctor has the power to regenerate (a sly trick the writers of the program thought up when the original Doctor, played by British character actor William Hartnell, decided to leave the show due to fatigue).
This means that when the Doctor becomes very ill or is mortally wounded, his physiology will sap its own stored-up energy and rejuvenate his body, while changing his appearance.
So, over the years, the Doctor has taken on seven different appearances, all with distinct personalities but maintaining the character thread of an otherworldly, omniscient, curious eccentric who always challenges authority.
Hartnell portrayed the first incarnation of the Doctor for three years as a crotchety grandfather figure who was somewhat unapproachable.
Patrick Troughton brought to the second Doctor an air of childlike playfulness and a flee, not fight, mentality. Like Hartnell, Troughton portrayed the Doctor for three years. Jon Pertwee, who was with the series for five seasons, incorporated a dashing, James Bond flavor after he regenerated into the third Doctor.
Pertwee's successor, Tom Baker, has become a cult figure. As the most popular incarnation in America, portraying the character for seven years, Baker is known for his unique personality and outlandish costume, which includes a 20-foot long, multicolored woolen scarf.
For three years, Peter Davison brought a younger, devil-may-care attitude to the fifth Doctor.
When Davison regenerated into Colin Baker, the sixth Doctor became a sarcastic, overbearing sort who returned the unapproachable aspect of the first Doctor for two seasons. And finally, for the past two years,
Sylvester McCoy maintains an affable, humorous seventh Doctor that harks back to the Patrick Troughton era.
All in all, the Doctor, who one must remember has always been the same individual, truly can say, "The more things change, the more things stay the same."
Over the course of his 25 years on television, the Doctor has not traveled the universe alone. A myriad of companions have joined him in the TARDIS. Women warriors in scanty outfits, robotic dogs, Timeladies and human beings from various eras of earth's history (most from 20th century Britain) have journeyed with the Doctor through time and space providing characters the audience could identify with, for the companions were usually just as out of place as the viewers in the unusual situations encountered weekly by the Doctor.
And of course, the Doctor did not only have friends. An assortment of enemies have plagued the Doctor's travels: Cybermen, fierce, silver robots from another world with no emotions; Sea Devils, the 'original' inhabitants of Earth who live underwater; the Master, a fellow Time-lord who is the embodiment of evil; and Daleks, the most popular and recurring of the Doctor's enemies that resemble sinister salt and pepper shakers on wheels. All have faced the Doctor in the universal struggle between good and evil.
In the Chicago area, the third largest market for the program behind Great Britain and Australia, "Doctor Who" is syndicated over public television.
The program runs in weekly, half-hour installments in Britain, and usually three to six episodes comprise one complete story. In Chicago, the episodes are combined to form the 60- to 90-minute story that is shown in its entirety on Sunday nights.
WTTW Channel 11 has just shown the most recent episode of "Doctor Who," a 25th season adventure starring Sylvestor McCoy, and this Sunday will return to the Jon Pertwee serials of the 1970s (which, due to the BBC's policy of not regularly rerunning programs, is a luxury Americans have over British audiences).
So, the Doctor continues to journey through the cosmos, fighting evil and fulfilling his own curiosity. However, as a Timelord, he can only regenerate 12 times until his life span will come to an end.
But will that bring to a close the historic, science-fantasy program that has already weathered 25 years of broadcasting?
Knowing the insurmountable character of the Doctor, he'll quite probably be blowing out 50 candles on top of a TARDIS-shaped cake come 2013.
Who knows the most about 'Who'? Enter and win
For 25 years, the Doctor of the BBC's landmark television program "Doctor Who," has traveled to many places, met many faces, and accumulated a lot of trivia.
The following is a quiz that will put to the test even the greatest of "Who" fans. Prizes will be awarded to the three readers who submit the greatest number of correct answers to the 10 questions. In case of a tie, names will be drawn at random.
All three winners will receive a copy of a special souvenir magazine issue titled "Doctor Who — the 25th Anniversary Special."
The magazine takes an in-depth look at the history of the science-fantasy program and the people behind and in front of the cameras who have been responsible for its success.
Answers to the quiz, along with one's name, address, and daytime phone number, can be mailed to Press Publications, 112 S. York St., Elmhurst 60126, in care of Bill Siwicki, or dropped off at the office, marked with the same name.
Deadline for submission is April 14.
The "Doctor Who" Trivia Quiz
1) What was the name of the Doctor's dog featured during the Tom Baker era of the program?
2) Who is the evil, renegade Timelord that has plagued the Doctor's journeys since the Jon Pertwee era?
3) What was the name of the automobile the third Doctor used during his stays on Earth?
4) Which villainous race of robot creatures has menaced the Doctor in each of his seven incarnations?
5) What was the name of the Doctor's companion who was a savage, female warrior and wore the equivalent of a brown leather bikini?
6) What famous British comedian made a guest appearance on "Doctor Who," standing in the Louvre in Paris admiring the Doctor's TARDIS as a work of art?
7) What was the Doctor's candy of choice (eaten mostly during the Tom Baker era)?
8) What internationally famous rock and roll group appeared on "Doctor Who" during the William Hartnell era of the program?
9) Which incarnation of the Doctor has "met" the greatest number of his other selves during his journeys through time and space?
10) What two incarnations of the Doctor had at one point smoked, and what apparatus did they use to smoke?
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Siwicki, Bill (1989-03-31). Happy birthday to 'Who' - cult fantasy turns 25. The Lombard Spectator p. sec. 4, p. 1.
- MLA 7th ed.: Siwicki, Bill. "Happy birthday to 'Who' - cult fantasy turns 25." The Lombard Spectator [add city] 1989-03-31, sec. 4, p. 1. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Siwicki, Bill. "Happy birthday to 'Who' - cult fantasy turns 25." The Lombard Spectator, edition, sec., 1989-03-31
- Turabian: Siwicki, Bill. "Happy birthday to 'Who' - cult fantasy turns 25." The Lombard Spectator, 1989-03-31, section, sec. 4, p. 1 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Happy birthday to 'Who' - cult fantasy turns 25 | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Happy_birthday_to_%27Who%27_-_cult_fantasy_turns_25 | work=The Lombard Spectator | pages=sec. 4, p. 1 | date=1989-03-31 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=13 December 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Happy birthday to 'Who' - cult fantasy turns 25 | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Happy_birthday_to_%27Who%27_-_cult_fantasy_turns_25 | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=13 December 2025}}</ref>
